1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an apparatus for dispensing and crushing ice, and more particularly to an ice dispensing and crushing apparatus which utilizes a helical conveyor.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An ice dispensing apparatus for use with a household refrigerator is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,331. This device utilizes an open-turn type of helical conveyor for transporting small pieces of ice toward an ice dispensing opening. Although the patent does not disclose the inclusion of any particular type of ice crusher, it does disclose that an ice crusher can be disposed in an ice discharge housing.
A combination ice cube and crushed ice dispenser is disclosed in British patent specification 1,337,647. The dispensing portion of this device includes a helical conveyor which is connected with the ice crushing portion of the device. The ice crushing portion includes a plurality of motor driven rotatable ice crushing arms which are adapted to carry and crush ice against a stationary ice crushing arm. A selectively movable member is provided which, when in an operative position, intercepts pieces of ice as they are fed by the helical conveyor through an opening into the crushing portion of the device so that the ice pieces can be engaged by the rotatable arms and carried thereby to be crushed against the stationary ice crushing arm. When the ice intercepting member is in a non-operative position, the ice is ideally conveyed by the helical conveyor through the opening and into the crushing portion but, rather than being engaged by the rotatable arms, is dispensed directly through the discharge opening. However, even with the intercepting member in its non-operative position, since the stationary arm remains in position, the rotatable arms are likely to engage a certain portion of the ice and carry it to be crushed against the stationary arm, thereby resulting in a certain amount of crushed ice being dispensed along with the uncrushed ice.
In addition, various open and closed type helical conveyors for transporting small pieces of ice from an ice supply bin are described in German Publication DE-OS 24 24 252, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,341,065 and 3,918,266.